Closing remarks by Getachew Engida, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO

Paris, 21 October 2016

Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen!

For these past two days UNESCO was pleased and honoured to host more than 200 media professionals working for Russian language media, who have come to Paris from 63 countries representing more than 260 million Russian language speakers living in five continents.

It truly has been an impressive gathering organized by the World Association of Russian Press and its President and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mr Vitaly Ignatenko.

For two days, you were debating cultural diversity and media pluralism, multilingualism and cultural identity, freedom of expression and development, convergence in digital area and ethical issues, quality journalism and its independence.

I hope that these deliberations have enriched you as well as provided with plenty of opportunities to exchange professional experience and opinions.

Cultural expressions, cultural diversity and the cultural identity of peoples are included in the right to freedom of expression.

For all three to thrive enabling, pluralistic, and safe media environment is essential.

Diversity and pluralism of media allows us to enrich our individual minds as well as collective cultural experiences with diverse opinions, narratives, and information.

It encourages inter-cultural dialogue across borders and frontiers as well as strengthens freedom of, expression - which in turn allows us to enjoy diverse opinions, expressed in the multitude of languages.

Freedom of expression is essential to guarantee cultural expressions and pluralism of opinions. But it would not work in full strength if not supported by independent and quality media, which takes professional ethics as its roadmap and quality reporting as its ultimate standard.

In my view, new media technologies do not change the core values which guide journalists.

Your profession is based on such principles as pluralism of opinions, editorial independence, professional ethics and I am glad that once again it was affirmed during the debates.

Cultural expressions and cultural diversity is also closely interlinked with freedom of information.

Equal and universal access to information is a powerful engine for positive change, widening opportunities to enrich our cultural exchanges, to overcome inequalities, to reach the diasporas, to create and share knowledge, to discover other cultures, to strengthen the foundations of democratic institutions.

There can be no development without free flow of information, which acts both as a means and as a goal of positive change.

The world community affirmed this principle yet again when they inscribed access to information as an integral target of the Sustainable Development Goals, the goals which UN Secretary General Ban-ki moon has called the “road map for people and the planet”.

UNESCO has been asked to serve as custodian for the monitoring of this target.

With this in mind we highlighted the important link between access, freedom and development only a few weeks ago as we led the world celebrations of the first time ever of the International Day for Universal Access to Information.

This new task of UNESCO intertwines naturally with our mission to strengthen global awareness that languages play a vital role in development, in ensuring cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.

The international Mother Language Day, proclaimed by the General Conference of UNESCO back in 1999, continues to highlight importance of cultural diversity and multilingualism.

We well understand that without cultural and linguistic diversity as well as freedom to receive and disseminate information and opinions, the 2030 Development Agenda will remain at a standstill, cutting down our movement towards a better world for all.

Diversity of cultures and pluralism of opinions strengthens us in all fields - political, scientific, educational, etc.

Respect for free flow of information and free cultural expressions is the lifeblood of a functioning democracy and sustainable development.

In closing, I would like to once again thank those who participated in this meeting for your continued efforts to create a world where media professionals can work freely and in safety, serving the world with the infprmation upon which we all depend.

Thank you!
Spasibo!